When It's 109 degrees . . .

 . . . do you think to yourself, "I ought to move to Dallas?" (Granted, the heat makes you lightheaded and unfit for serious decision-making.)

Well, according to Erica (Joey and Coco), it might be a smart idea because Dallas is home to an enormous indoor dog park complex—the first of its kind. Here are some photos from the Web site of Unleashed Indoor Dog Parks. (To see more photos, look here. To see a few reviews from visitors, see here.) The facility—just minutes from downtown Dallas—boasts 2,500 square interior feet and 2.5 acres for outside play.

Wow, right? Apparently, the complex contains a very special and intense cleaning and deodorizing system that allows for hundreds of dogs to do their biz on material that looks like astroturf. The park also has a cafe, lounge, and a pet supply store, and there is day care and grooming services on-site. The cost for the park itself is $7.50 per dog per day, with unlimited number of visits per day. Dogs must be pre-registered, and owners must show that all vaccinations and flea/tick preventatives are up-to-date. Interestingly, no pit bulls are allowed. 

The whole thing looks amazing. It seems so Dallas, too. "Darlin', it's just too hot to walk them dawgs. Why, oh why, cain't somebody invent a state-of-the-art, indoor, air-conditioned dog park?"  Whereas Austinites are all about the sweat. That's why they jog along Lamar Boulevard at lunch hour in August and race in bright spandex pants down Bull Creek (Le Tour de Bull Creek) on their way to work at the University or the State. Austinites say, "Why hold outdoor music and food festivals during the cool autumn or winter months. Let's gather with 5,000 of our closest friends and sweat! It's organic!"

I love A/C as much as anybody, but I gotta say that the photos of all those people and dogs inside the indoor dog park building make me feel a little claustrophobic. At least we've got 80-some acres to sweat in at our Dog Park. So we'll continue to brave Dog Park in the triple digit heat because like all things Texan, it's not easy; it's the cowboy way. Yee haw, everybody. Stay cool.

-z